No, I am not using native Mac software. Xastir is open source and was originally scripted for Linux. It has been ported for Windows, Mac and several other OS's. On the Mac it runs in Terminal and you need Xcode installed.

Xastir is a great program for mapping and APRS. The reason I write this is the incredible number of map formats it uses, TIGER maps, USGS DRG files, BSB, Google Earth...the list goes on. I can easily track my vehicle and see all my buddies when we are rallying. The best part is, the maps are all free.

I certainly understand Jirka is in the Netherlands, but when he brings this product to market, many of his customers will be in the US, so having functionality with the mapping systems available here is a must.

I noticed you use Google Earth with iBug. The nice thing about using some of the map formats, is that you can download the files and then you don't need internet access to use the maps.

MacGPSpro is also an awesome mapping tool utilizing USGS DRG files and several other file format. It is native to Mac and fairly well thought out.

Our mapping framework is rather flexible and terrain maps with off-road navigation are definitely on our to-do list (one of my colleagues drives a Range Rover). We do not plan using any particular map format directly, instead we would like to provide format description so people could write applications or scripts to import their particular format. We might create importer for the most common formats in-house, but this is all relatively low priority and will most likely be done in Q3 this year. The on-road navigation is the top item now - it works, but there are still a few glitches (i.e. route finding is relatively slow for long distances etc.)

APRS is one of the things in the pipeline - my colleague is currently looking for a suitable transceiver that he could install and control via QCar. APRS is something he would like to do as well.

That's great to hear Jirka. There are currently only two mobile transceivers on the market that have built in TNC's (Terminal Node Controllers), the Kenwood D710a and the Alinco DR-135T that are out of the box suitable for APRS. Any other radios require separate TNC in order use APRS. I don't think either radio has the ability to be controlled from a PC though I might be mistaken.

Full disclosure, I personnaly own an Icom IC-2820H and use a Coastal Chipworks TNC-X. I am going to be experimenting with a Byonics Tiny Trak 4 very soon.

On a side note, I received my Carnetix CNX-P2140 yesterday with MacMini harness. I checked the positions off all the jumpers, then bench tested it last night with my 12v power supply and my MacMini. Works great and I love the PSUmoni that you ported over for Mac....In fact the only reason I bought the P2140, over the P1900, is the software interface. Prices on the P2140 also just dropped $15 bucks while it was in transit to my home from :-) but too bad I missed that deal :-(

I understand the choice of TeleAtlas, but I wonder about http://wiki.openstreetmap.org/wiki/Main_Page -- these are free open maps which are user-contributed. They're surprisingly complete. If qCar could both log uncharted territory and submit back to them, as well as download updates from them and use them for navigation, that would be fantastic.

Similarly, there are people putting in bike paths they've taken, Jirka's colleague could use it with the Land Rover / Range Rover to log off-road adventures.

Benefit to Jirka? No TeleAtlas contracts and fees to pass on to his customers.

I am afraid that charting an unknown road and getting all the info to use that road for routing is not something QCar could do while simply passing thru. The routing table in TeleAtlas maps contains dozens of fields for each road segment (part of the road between every two junctions).

As for logging the routes and submitting them back, that has been working for quite a while using either our own server or gpsgate.com. Now we also have the option to convert such a record (sequence of points in kml, gpx or similar format) into a route (sequence of road elements with turn-by-turn instructions).

But basically the navigation in QCar is not tied to any particular map format or supplier - it uses our own format into which other formats can be converted. At the moment we only have a converter for .shp maps, used by TA and Navteq, but the format is very simple and it should not be a big problem to write a converter for other map sources as well.

Hi, where can I get a copy of QCar? I've been to qcar.nl and there is a demo version on there but that is it. Is there a cost and if so how much and where does one purchase? I was intrigued to see that you had done an installation into a P38, how did it go trying to get the OBD to communicate? What hardware did you use to achieve this?

Sorry for a long absence. We have now finally set up the business side of the thing. Now we are working on a new website which will also give the chance to purchase and download the full version. I will try to upload a demo of the most recent version before that and post a link here.